Published by Clay Cane on Monday, June 15, 2009 at 12:00 am.
The Hangover is relentlessly hanging on at the box office — beating out legends like Denzel Washington and John Travolta on their opening weekend. For the second week in a row The Hangover - the comedy that includes an appearance from Mike Tyson – rocked the number one spot at the box office. This is only the second movie this year to spend two consecutive weeks at #1, the other was Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail in February. Washington and Travolta’’s The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 brought in $25 million and ranked at #3 this weekend.
Eddie Murphy’s Imagine That, which was met with mixed reviews, made $5.7 million charting at #6 for the box office this weekend. This is a slight increase from Meet Dave from last year, which only brought in $5 million. However, the movie did not even top Night at the Museum 2, which was released over a month ago.
Published by Clay Cane on Friday, June 12, 2009 at 7:00 am.
Summary: A father (Eddie Murphy) is consumed with his professional life and is neglecting his daughter. When he discovers she has the gift of predicting his business ventures via a blanket, he discovers the world of imagination.
Review: I miss ‘bad’ Eddie Murphy. You know, the one who would curse up a storm in a movie, the Billie Dee Williams of the 1990s and whose edgy comedy had everyone in the neighborhood imitating him. Well, I guess we all have to grow up, but I hope Murphy one day returns to his “Raw” roots.
Imagine That isn’t the most imaginative movie, but Eddie Murphy is still a comedic genius and has mastered the art of children’s movies. The man who was once policed by Bill Cosby now beautifully appeals to kids. He is funny, charismatic and seems to have a natural chemistry working with children on the big screen. This time around it’s Yara Shahidi, in her first film. Shahidi is undeniably adorable and when the film lags, just watching her is enough to raise the cute factor of this Nickelodeon film.
The plot line is no “E.T.,” but kids could care less about inconsistencies, predictability, or a lazy script. Children want to be entertained and Imagine That effectively does that.
Imagine That also reunites Nicole Ari Parker and Vanessa Williams, who were sisters in the popular Showtime series Soul Food. While they don’t get much screen time, one can only hope someone will hand these two television and film veterans a movie.
Overall, Imagine That is definitely a kid’s movie and doesn’t transcend that category. Nonetheless, it is good to see an African-American dad and his daughter bonding on screen. It’s the perfect film for Father’s Day.
Published by Clay Cane on Thursday, May 28, 2009 at 11:46 am.
We all know Eddie Murphy is the king of children movies and now the Oscar nominee returns to the big screen on Friday, June 12th with the family film “Imagine That.”
In Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies’ family comedy “Imagine That,” Eddie Murphy stars as a successful financial executive who has more time for his BlackBerry than his seven-year-old daughter (Yara Shahidi). When he has a crisis of confidence and his career starts going down the drain, however, he finds the solution to all his problems in his daughter’s imaginary world.
The cast includes Nicole Ari Parker and Vanessa Williams from Soul Food and Bobb’e J. Thompson from the edgy comedy Role Models. Check out the trailer below!
Published by Clay Cane on Wednesday, March 11, 2009 at 12:01 am.
We’ve all had those moments where we sat through a two hour movie and said, “Why did they do that? Did they read the script?” Well, check out some of the worst film catastrophes from your favorite bloggers across on the web.
Cuba Gooding Jr. in Snow Dogs! I’m all for children’s movies, but that flick definitely makes the list for one of the worst movies of all time. He tried too hard to be funny and hasn’t fully recovered yet. However, I liked him as Nickey Barnes in American Gangster (although it was a small part) so I’ll keep hope alive for Cuba!
Janet Jackson in Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married? — in the scene that was supposed to be a tearjerker, Janet was about as convincing as her brother in a self-esteem competition. What happened to the kid actor with all the chops on Good Times? Hopefully Mrs. Gordon still doesn’t own an iron.
Everybody who knows me knows that I love me some Oprah. But I got to say that out of all her movies she’s starred in—I could bust her in the head with a Gyant pillow for making Beloved. Oprah’s trying to get her negro spiritual on and we’re all looking at the screening thinking, “Why the hell is Oprah playing in the dirt?”
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The Young, Black & Fabulous says: Gabrielle Union in Perfect Holiday: Not only are we supposed to believe for the 10th movie in a row that she’s gorgeous and still can’t find a man—but Morris Chestnut is her man for the umpteenth time and they still can’t make that ish work?
Lord knows I love myself some Mariah Carey but when it comes to her 2001 almost autobiographical film, Glitter, let’s just be honest—Mimi’s Glitter should have came no where near the box office but rather selected to make its debut on VH1!
Eddie Murphy used to have a knack for making the offensive laughable. However, in 2007’s Norbit, the legendary comedian brought a minstel show to the big screen. The flick is an awful journey in a lifetime of movie -going experiences. Some say this film is why he lost the Oscar for Dreamgirls.
Published by Clay Cane on Monday, March 2, 2009 at 12:01 am.
The picture above is of Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy on the cover of People in July 1983. Pryor was a mentor and inspiration to Eddie Murphy and now The Nutty Professor star is more than likely starring in a biopic of the late-great comedian’s life.
The creator of Dreamgirls and the incredibly boring 2009 Oscars, Bill Condon, wrote a script on the legendary comedian’s life titled Richard Pryor: Is It Something I Said? According to Entertainment Weekly, “He initially was hoping to secure $30 million to produce the film, but that number, sources say, has dropped down to $25 million. Murphy, who has featured Pryor impersonations in his act as far back as the 1987 concert movie Raw, seems a likely choice for this role.”
Richard Pryor is considered one of the funniest men to have ever lived. He is often credited for popularizing the word “nigga” and inspired generations of comics to be funny, but also added political commentary. However, Pryor also had a battle with addiction. In 1980 after freebasing cocaine, Pryor set himself on fire. There was a movie loosely based on Pryor’s life in 1986 called Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling, which was about a comedian who reflects on his life and burned himself after using drugs. Pryor insisted the film wasn’t autobiographical. Unfortunately, Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling was a box office disappointment.
Check out the hilarious video below of Murphy imitating Pryor and Bill Cosby.
Published by Clay Cane on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 at 9:55 am.
It’s easy to remember holiday classics like Miracle on 34th Street, It’s a Wonderful Life, and A Christmas Carol. However, if you want to check out holiday movies with a lil’ color, this list is for you.
5. Last Holiday (2006)
There have been a string of black holiday films (Perfect Holiday, This Christmas) in the past few years, but one could argue the success of Queen Latifah’s Last Holiday rejuvenated the trend. The film is a remake from 1955 with Latifah playing a woman who finds out she only has weeks alive. She spends her last holiday doing all she never had a chance to do. Latifah’s presence carries the film and her co-star, LL Cool J, adds some flavor.
4. A Diva’s Christmas Carol (2000)
A fun, light-hearted film — and any excuse to see Vanessa Williams on camera is a plus. Before Williams was the high-powered diva, Wilhelmina Slater, on Ugly Betty she played Ebony Scrooge (Ebenezer Scrooge – get it?) in the 2000 VH1 production of A Diva’s Christmas Carol. A modern and divalicious remake of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. A Diva’s Christmas Carol is an amsuing watch and includes appearances from Brian McKnight and Chili of TLC.
3. Holiday Heart (2000)
Ving Rhames in drag is more like a horror flick during Halloween, however, for better or for worse, Holiday Heart is a classic. Rhames is a drag queen named Holiday who is a staunch Christian. Wanda (Alfre Woodard) is trying to care for her daughter while battling drugs. Rhames becomes a parental figure with the story’s climax hitting on Christmas Eve.
2. The Preacher’s Wife (1996)
The Preacher’s Wife would be Whitney Houston’s last big screen film appearance and probably her best acting to date. The Preacher’s Wife starred Oscar-winner Denzel Washington and was a story about a preacher who prays for help with his struggling church. His prayers are answered with the help of an angel (Denzel Washington) who falls for the preacher’s wife — Whitney Houston’s character. A great holiday film for the entire family. Plus, Nippy belts out her hit “I Believe in You and Me.”
1. The Kid Who Loved Christmas (1990)
A made for TV movie that was produced by Eddie Murphy Productions and starred Cicely Tyson, Vanessa Williams, Della Resse, and marks Sammy Davis Jr.’s last film appearance. The Kid Who Loved Christmas is a touching story about a child’s only wish to be with his father for Christmas. While not well known, one would think with all the star power that the movie would at some point make it to DVD.
Published by Tanu Henry on Thursday, May 29, 2008 at 6:00 am.
Remember when Eddie Murphy was adored for more than his Donkey voice? Remember him as wise-cracking, tight jeans-wearing detective Axel Foley in the Beverly Hills Cop series? Well, following in the footsteps of middle-aged actors Sylvester Stallone (Rocky Balboa) and Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones), Murphy has signed on to reprise Axel one mo’ gin, reports Variety. Will it be a success? The first two installments were, grossing $234.7 million and $153.6 million, respectively, in the U.S. Beverly Hills Cop III stunk big time, so Murphy and director Brett Ratner better make some magic this go round.
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